


Operation Clean Firefighter

by thewightknight



Series: Good Neighbors [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Firefighter AU, Fluff without Plot, M/M, but maybe obsessing over him a little bit, encouraging voyeurism, not really stalking your neighbor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 15:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7719643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/pseuds/thewightknight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working in a fire station in the middle of a sleepy residential neighborhood can sometimes make for stressful relations with one's neighbors.  So when a cute redhead moves into the rental across the street Kylo, Finn, Poe and Rey hope he'll be a bit friendlier than the last tenant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation Clean Firefighter

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, some of you asked for the firefighters' side of the first part of the series and apparently it really wanted to be written. A continuation of the headcanons from [this post](http://thewightknight.tumblr.com/post/148614466023/headcanon-for-adoption).

"We've got a new neighbor." Rey was entirely too perky this morning. Of course, she hadn't been here when the call came in at 3am about the dumpster fire. She'd made coffee, though, so she was forgiven.

"He's really cute. Bright red hair, super pale, cheekbones to die for."

Kylo grunted in acknowledgement.

"Really efficient too. He got the truck unloaded in a little over an hour."

Blowing across the top of the mug to cool the liquid, he grunted again.

"His friend was really cute too. I think they're just friends, at least. They didn't act like a couple. She looked like she could arm-wrestle you and win."

This would be their third neighbor in two years. There were only two houses on this little cul-de-sac and the other one was occupied by a sweet little octogenarian. She was deaf as a rock and once she took her hearing aids out at night she could sleep through an invasion. That made them all more than a bit worried, because what if her smoke alarm went off in the middle of the night? The other house's occupant had passed away and the family had been trying to rent it out ever since, but even though their calls were so intermittent the first two renters had complained about the noise and moved out after only a few months. They should start a pool on how long this new one would last, he decided as he took his first sip.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh, wow. Rey was right. Come see, guys!!"

"Right about what?" Finn asked, and Poe beckoned him over to the window, pulling the drapes aside.

"The new neighbor's a babe!"

Kylo pretended indifference, flipping through the newspaper. He'd confirmed the almost unearthly attractiveness of the across-the-street resident the previous morning, when he'd come out just after dawn to water the flowers along his part of the sidewalk. Luckily he'd been half asleep and hadn't noticed Kylo gaping at him. 

They still didn’t even know what the gorgeous redhead’s name was. Rey said the woman who’d helped him move in had called him something that sounded like “Hucks,” but that had to be a nickname. 

"That skin should be illegal," Poe said, and Finn sighed in agreement.

"He's going to catch you staring if you don't cut it out," Kylo warned as he turned the page. Just as he finished Finn swore and swatted the drapes out of Poe's hand.

"See. Told you!"

"Shush!" Finn peered through the gap at the edge of the window, and sighed in relief. "I don't think he saw us."

Rey breezed into the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge. "Who saw you?" she asked as she grabbed a Coke from the bottom shelf.

"They were spying on the new neighbor," Kylo said, and both Finn and Poe looked offended. 

"We weren't spying!" Finn protested.

"Just trying to decide if he was okay," Poe added. "We don't need another asshole like the last guy." The previous tenant had turned out to be both racist and homophobic. He'd filed a complaint with the city against them for "indecency" because the downstairs shower didn't have frosted glass on the window and he could see into it. They'd put up a plastic curtain in response, but had taken great pleasure afterwards in "testing" the sirens at increased frequency.

Rey shook her head, making the little buns she twisted into her hair bounce up and down. "Oh, no, I don't think so. He looks so nice!" 

_Nice_ wasn't the first adjective that sprang to Kylo's mind. In fact, the first three words that sprang to mind when he thought of the man would have to be censored in front of his cousin. He scolded himself for it, but then grinned as an idea came to him.

"Well, you know, there's a sure-fire way to find out."

And that's how "Operation Clean Firefighter" began.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Do you think he’s noticed yet?” Poe asked over breakfast the next week.

“Dunno,” Finn replied, shrugging. "He opens the shade every afternoon but you can’t see in with the light coming from behind his house.” 

“Doesn’t it bother you that some stranger might be watching you shower?” Rey asked and the three of them stared at each other over their coffee mugs.

“Nah,” Finn responded after a moment.

“Nope!” Poe chimed in.

“Fine by me.” Kylo kept his voice neutral. He wasn’t going to admit how hot he found the idea.

“Besides, he isn’t really a stranger anymore,” Finn said. A piece of his junk mail had ended up in their box. Rey hadn’t misheard his name the day he moved in - it was spelled H-U-X. A. Hux, in fact, whatever the “A” stood for. They’d ended up recycling the flyer instead of taking it over, after a brief argument, but he really didn’t seem like a man who’d be interested in laser hair removal so into the blue bin it had gone. Poe still insisted it had been a wasted opportunity, but both Rey and Kylo maintained that it would have been awkward and possibly desperate-seeming.

“Okay, then. It’s kind of nice, I have to admit, having the upstairs shower all to myself. I don’t have to worry about you jerks using my shampoo anymore.” With that, Rey pushed off from the table. “Going to help me with the tune-up this morning, Poe?”

“Sure thing. Just let me get a refill.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three weeks into Operation Clean Firefighter and they still had no idea if their neighbor had even noticed the naked men showering below his bedroom window. The idea of just going over and introducing themselves had been resoundingly and unanimously voted down, as they’d all agreed it had been long enough since he’d moved in that it would be awkward now. 

Besides taking their turns in the shower, they’d each spent some extra time outside trying to catch him in one of the few time when he seemed to leave the house during the day. Finn had said hi to him a few times and gotten a wave in response but nothing else. He’d been spotted in the big picture window one afternoon when Rey and Poe were tinkering around with the truck’s engine but hadn’t lingered. Kylo had made several ambling trips around the firehouse with his shirt off. Both Finn and Poe accused him of cheating. Cheating at what, he’d asked, and when they hemmed and hawed with answering he told them they were just jealous because they hadn’t thought of it. 

It had started to become an obsession, so they’d declared a break from their mystery man and decided to have a movie night. The new Ghostbusters movie opened next weekend and Rey had let it slip that she’d never seen the original movies, so they’d popped up huge bowlfuls of popcorn and had just settled in when there was a knock at the door.

“Probably that guy with the magazines again,” Poe groaned.

“Why don’t we just ignore it?” Rey suggested.

“Can’t. Might be a real emergency,” Finn replied.

“Okay, who’s getting it?”

Finn lost at rock-paper-scissors so he got up, grumbling. 

“We’ll pause it for you!” Rey promised as he headed to the door.

He was back in barely a minute.

“Guys! It’s him!” he hissed.

“Him? Like _him_ him?” Poe spilled the popcorn, bolting upright from where he’d sprawled across the sofa.

“Yeah, Redhead McHottypants. And guess what? He’s British. Or Irish, maybe.”

“Well, which is it?” Poe asked. “You can’t make a mistake about something like that, not unless you really want to piss him off. And it can’t be McHottypants if he’s Irish. That’s Scottish, man.” 

“I dunno, his accent’s faint. C’mon, he sliced his hand open. It’s why he came over – he needs some first aid.”

Poe and Kylo stared at him for a minute, then both of them jumped up off the sofa. 

“Wait a minute!” Rey whispered. “You can’t all go charging in there. You’ll scare the poor guy.”

They played rock-paper-scissors again and Kylo lost this round. He pouted as Poe followed Finn out to the kitchen.

“Just give it a few minutes,” Rey said. “Then you can go check on them.”

He counted to one hundred and fifty and tried to go. Rey grabbed him and made him wait until he’d counted to a hundred again before letting him out of the room. He could hear the clipped tones of Hux’s voice as he approached and stopped at the door to the kitchen to watch as Finn and Poe began to clean his hand. He was even more gorgeous up close, haloed in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window above the sink, eyes shifting from blue to green depending on which way he turned his head. He said something inane as he approached, but he couldn’t have repeated it if his life depended on it when those chameleon eyes met his. It took a moment to realize that those incredible eyes were glazing over and he lunged forward just as he collapsed, Finn’s warning almost too late.

He barely weighed anything, it seemed like, as Kylo cradled him in his arms, gently lowering him to the floor. There was a flurry of activity as Poe propped his legs up and Finn checked his pulse.

“What’d you guys do to him?” Rey asked from the doorway.

“He’s fainted, Rey, He’ll be fine,” Finn replied. “He should come around soon. Hey, let’s get him all taken care of before he comes to, alright?” 

Kylo supported their unconscious Hux while Finn put four neat stitches in his palm and wrapped his hand up. Rey took one of their dishcloths and soaked it in the sink and knelt next to him, patting at his cheeks and forehead. In just a short time his eyelids began to flutter and his eyes cracked open. When he tried to move Kylo tightened his grip.

“Relax, don’t try to move right away. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” 

“Good news. I put the stitches in while you were out,” Finn said, and he raised his hand, turning it back and forth.

“You should be okay, but I’d suggest checking in with your doctor tomorrow, okay?” He still seemed out of it and Finn winked at Kylo as he gathered up his supplies. He, Poe, and Rey then paraded out, leaving him sitting on the floor with Hux, the semi-conscious Brit or Irishman whose name he shouldn’t know, sprawled in his lap.

His lapful moved again and he helped him up into more of a sitting position, enjoying the feel of him leaning back into his chest maybe a little more than he should have. He was still pale, though.

“We’re going to take it easy for a bit longer, okay?” he said. The man tried to protest, and maybe it was Kylo’s imagination but he didn’t seem too eager to get up. Okay, he could make conversation. They weren’t supposed to know his name, because otherwise he’d have to own up to the mail thing and that would be awkward, so how about introductions? Yes, introductions were good, and oh Hux was even cuter when he blushed. When he helped Hux stand he was careful not to let his hands wander. It was only polite, though, to rest his hand lightly on Hux’s back in case he got dizzy again, wasn’t it? He’d just see him to his door, then.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What’s going on? I can’t see!” Rey tried to push her way between Poe and Finn at the window.

“Shush! They’ll hear us.” Finn shoved her away, hand on her forehead.

“Kylo’s still got his arm around him. That dog!” Poe grinned, punching Finn in the arm.

“Oh, shit, Hux is looking up!” Finn let the drapes fall and they all jumped back. After a moment, Finn peeked through again. “Kylo’s coming back!”

They all clomped down the stairs, laughing the whole way.

Kylo was grinning from ear to ear as he let himself in.

“Spill, man! What’s the word?” Poe asked.

“We’ve got a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> Life's going to be crazy for the next few weeks, but I'm working through ideas for Hux and Kylo's date, so hopefully that will follow before too long.
> 
>  
> 
> Feel free to come say hi over on [tumblr](http://thewightknight.tumblr.com/).


End file.
